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Public Speaking: Harmonica: History

The harmonica originated in Europe in the early 19th century. It became a popular folk instrument used in blues, American folk, jazz, country, and rock music. While Germany was originally the center of harmonica production, manufacturing has since expanded globally. The harmonica consists of a comb that holds the air chambers covering the reed plates, which contain the brass reeds. Cover plates made of various materials cover the reed plates and determine the instrument's tonal quality.

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Luis Alberto Gostín Krämer
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130 views1 page

Public Speaking: Harmonica: History

The harmonica originated in Europe in the early 19th century. It became a popular folk instrument used in blues, American folk, jazz, country, and rock music. While Germany was originally the center of harmonica production, manufacturing has since expanded globally. The harmonica consists of a comb that holds the air chambers covering the reed plates, which contain the brass reeds. Cover plates made of various materials cover the reed plates and determine the instrument's tonal quality.

Uploaded by

Luis Alberto Gostín Krämer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Public Speaking: Harmonica

The harmonica, also called harp or blues harp, is a free reed wind
instrument used
primarily
in blues and American
folk
music, jazz, country music, and rock and roll.
History
The harmonica was developed in Europe in the early part of the 19th
century. Free reed instruments like the sheng were fairly common
throughout East Asia for centuries and were relatively well-known
in Europe for some time. Around 1820, free reed designs began being
created in Europe. Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann is often cited
as the inventor of the harmonica in 1821.
By the late 19th century, harmonica production was a big business,
having evolved into mass-production. New designs were still developed
in the 20th century, including the chromatic harmonica, first made by
Hohner in 1924, the bass harmonica, and the chord harmonica. In the
21st century, radical new designs are still being introduced into the
market, such as the Suzuki Overdrive and Hohner XB-40.
The harmonica was a success almost from the very start of production,
and while the centre of the harmonica business has shifted from
Germany, the output of the various harmonica manufacturers is still very
high. Recently, responding to increasingly demanding performance
techniques, the market for high quality instruments has grown.

Parts:
Comb: Is the main body of the instrument, which contains the air
chambers that cover the reeds. It is made of wood, plastic, or metal for
very high-end instruments. The comb material has an effect on the harp.
For example between wood and plastic.
Reed Plate: Reed-plate is the term for a grouping of several reeds in a
single housing. The reeds are usually made of brass, but steel,
aluminium and plastic are occasionally used.
Cover Plates: Cover plates cover the reed-plates and are usually made of
metal, though wood and plastic have also been used. The choice of
these is personal because they project sound, they determine the
tonal quality of the harmonica.

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